


The Rule

by Nightscrawl



Series: The Meaning of More [10]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17205404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightscrawl/pseuds/Nightscrawl
Summary: Judah has a request, and a rule. Whether it's followed remains to be seen.





	The Rule

**Author's Note:**

> Continued thanks to [Schattenriss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schattenriss/pseuds/Schattenriss) for doing the beta and his invaluable input.

The next day they were venturing to the distant Forbidden Oasis and Judah had a question for Dorian. He didn’t know why he should be so apprehensive in asking it; they had been sharing a bed for some time and this would be no different. Dorian had spent so many nights in his room—leaving random books on the sofa, bringing up additional articles of clothing or toiletries—that Judah had begun to think of it as _their_ room. But it _did_ seem different, more of a signifier of their status as a couple than sharing a bed at Skyhold was, even if everyone knew about it.

Judah had just placed his ready saddlebags on an arm of the sofa when he heard the door open below followed by Dorian’s footfalls—the only person in Skyhold who felt able to enter his quarters without first seeking permission.

“All packed I see,” Dorian said. “I hope there’s an extra pair of smallclothes. I hear sand gets into all the places you least expect it to.”

“If you’re still going to be wearing that,” Judah started, indicating Dorian’s base armor, “I expect you’ll have more to complain about than I.” He often teased the other man about his armor, especially when he was trying to get him out of it.

“Well, there _is_ a pool at the center of the _oasis_.”

“What if the Venatori are using it?”

“Then we’ll just have to crash their pool party, Inquisitor.”

Judah just shook his head and smiled at the last remark, having nothing more to add. Dorian would always come up with something; it was his nature to get in the last, witty word. “Dorian, I wanted to ask you something.”

Dorian had been leaning against the balustrade as they talked, arms and legs crossed in a casual manner. He straightened on seeing the color rising in Judah’s face. While he might have been wary that he was going to raise some concern about their relationship, the sight was so adorable that he didn’t consider it. “Are you… blushing?”

In response, Judah walked over to the vanity near the washstand, looked in the mirror, saw that he _was_ , and offered a flat denial. “No.”

“You are!” Dorian was grinning now. He hadn’t even seen Judah blush when he kissed him the first time, the other man having been too surprised to react. “What’s your question?”

After clearing his throat, Judah attempted, “I was wondering if you wanted to… tomorrow… if you wanted to share a tent?”

Dorian laughed. “All right.” He arched a provocative eyebrow and asked, “Is that _all_?”

“Just like that?” Judah’s anxiety bled away at the response.

“Just like that. Why not? We’re sharing a _bed_ ,” Dorian said, confusion creeping in, as he could not understand why Judah should be so concerned over his answer.

“Because it’s rather… open… for you.”

A corner of Dorian’s mind thought it odd that such a simple observation could shift the mood so dramatically. He had a response ready: a light-hearted quip that would bring them back to the feeling of a few moments previous, but held his tongue instead. Judah was right, and he regretted that it was so, and that the other man had noted it.

So many years of hiding. So many years of his father wanting him to be something, and someone, he was not. Years spent trying to pretend to be the good, obedient son, yet failing time and time again. He could never _do_ or _be_ as his father wanted. But that wasn’t the case here, was it? Not in the South where his family’s name had no significance, where the very utterance of his homeland’s name was more likely to provoke a curse than engender a compliment. Not with this man, who had given him everything, his whole self, and expected nothing in return.

Even had his preference not been an issue—a minor quirk that set him apart, an inconvenience for the role he was born to take on—his desire and need for that emotional connection would have been so. Thus his walls were built, and the laying of each brick only added more weight to what was already suffocating. For what was a known romantic attachment other than a weakness to be exploited? Either by an outsider, or by the person to whom one was attached. And it was hard, so very hard to let go of that mindset, a way of thinking that seeped into every thought, infecting every spoken word and every measured look. But he wanted to. He wanted this man, and what they had, to be _real_. And so he was determined to try.

A small, wistful smile crossed Dorian’s face, and he replied, “That’s part of ‘more’ too, isn’t it?”

The response allowed Judah to understand that Dorian was trying, for him as well as his own self, and his heart melted with the realization. “It is.” They smiled at each other for a brief moment before he continued. “But I have one condition.”

Curious now, Dorian sauntered over to him and stopped a few feet away. “ _You_ asked _me_ , but _you_ have a condition?” he asked, his tone playful.

Judah sighed, concerned that he was going to take this the wrong way and decided to be direct. “No sex.”

A prohibition on sex was not what Dorian had expected. On reflection, he realized that he had no idea what he’d expected. “I see. Because?”

“Because I think it will be tempting.”

Dorian’s mouth tightened into a line at the word. “We’re adults, Judah. I think we have self-control.”

“ ‘Self-control’? Is that what that was a few days ago?” Judah asked, laughter lacing his words. “You’re right. We are, and we do. Half the nights we’ll probably be so tired that we’ll barely manage to get out of our armor, much less do anything more exciting. I want you to understand that that’s not the reason I asked you to share. I would rather not spend an entire month as only Inquisitor and… what? Subordinate? I don’t think of you as one. Indispensable Consulting Tevinter Mage? Too long, and too shallow a description, I think. Residential Book Worm?”

Dorian became increasingly amused as Judah continued with his tangent, while also being mildly flattered at the compliments hidden within, finally laughing aloud at the last attribution.

“At any rate, I don’t want to go all that time without any closeness whatsoever. We’re together, and I want to _be_ together, even if it’s just quietly talking for a few minutes before we fall asleep. But it would be naïve not to admit that there won’t be _some_ nights where we’ll want more than that. Or,” Judah interrupted himself with a short laugh, “some mornings.”

Knowing that he was right, Dorian sighed in admission. Sometimes all it took was a single touch or a lengthy kiss, and setting boundaries beyond those intimacies could be useful. He saw the practicality in it.

“And because it’s private,” Judah added.

Dorian raised his brow at this addition, as his lover was not shy about being openly affectionate, even as he himself was more reticent. “But everyone already—”

“I know they know. That’s not my concern. I don’t want them to _hear_ us doing it,” Judah said, stepping closer to Dorian. Wrapping his fingers around the right shoulder strap on his armor, he used it to pull the other man to him as he said, “That is for _you_ and _me_ , and no one else.”

A smile formed on Dorian’s face as he considered Judah’s reasoning. He _did_ like the idea; it left him with a cozy, warm feeling. It would have been absurd to protest too much against the “no sex” rule. They weren’t having sex when they camped now anyway, and this would give them the opportunity to wind down some miserable travel days in closer company than they usually spent on these trips.

The smile spread into a grin as Dorian said, “We do tend to be rather… vocal.”

“We can still kiss,” Judah suggested.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Dorian said, putting the suggestion into action.

 

 

End.


End file.
